Expansion list challenge (Baseball Mogul 07)

[Honolulu Blue]

I've been fooling around with Baseball Mogul for the past 10 days, taking the Florida Marlins right after the expansion & amateur drafts (the most fun of the game's expansion options, IMO). It's five years later, and I've built up the usual gang of idiots into a pretty good team. We finished 80-82 - fourth in a very tough NL East (the Mets won the Championship and 112 games, Philly was the wild card and won 100 games, and Atlanta won 93). This is with fictional rosters.

Why I'm writing is to see if anyone would like to put on their GM caps and help me figure out a 15-man protected list for the upcoming expansion draft. Arizona and Tampa Bay are coming into the league, on schedule. I'll give you this year's stats and the end of season ratings. The stats should be self-explanatory, if a little terse (thanks, Clay). I'll explain the ratings when I get there:

1997 Batting             Team    G   AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR   BB    K   SB  CS    R  RBI   SLG   OBP
Arguenal, Alberto         FLA  144  .316   532  168  37   1  36   66  105    0   1   86  135  .592  .393
Beardsley, Tom            FLA    2  .000     3    0   0   0   0    0    1    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Bustos, Leon              FLA   33  .203    64   13   2   0   2    5   14    0   1   11    6  .328  .271
Clifford, Zack            FLA   87  .210   143   30   7   0  11    9   41    0   0   25   30  .490  .260
Coleman, Scott            FLA   73  .278   151   42  13   1   6   19   23    0   0   22   19  .497  .360
Connor, Mathew            FLA  113  .261   218   57  14   0   7   21   39    4   0   34   28  .422  .335
Cordner, Mark             FLA   88  .282   291   82  15   4   6   27   56    6   0   50   28  .423  .347
Cornier, Teddy            FLA   33  .117    77    9   1   0   0    2   29    0   0    1    5  .130  .139
Davalos, Manny            FLA  145  .254   476  121  33   4  20   23   80    2   0   56   77  .466  .287
Dimitya, Ian              FLA  147  .363   614  223  35   2  18   62   64    1   1  114   87  .515  .421
Dring, Tony               FLA   35  .139    72   10   1   0   0    2   35    0   0    6    2  .153  .160
Duncan, Zack              FLA   12  .083    24    2   0   0   0    0   14    0   0    2    1  .083  .083
Escofet, Norberto         FLA    3  .000     4    0   0   0   0    1    1    0   0    0    0  .000  .200
Evans, James              FLA    1  .000     2    0   0   0   0    0    1    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Hughes, Cam               FLA   12  .120    25    3   0   0   0    0   14    0   0    0    1  .120  .120
Ishikawa, Ichiro          FLA    6  .304    23    7   2   2   0    1    3    0   0    2    2  .565  .333
Kling, Jeff               FLA  151  .360   556  200  45   0  26   75   96    2   2  104   86  .581  .437
Larking, Kenny            FLA  113  .245   372   91  18   1  17   20   43    0   0   48   44  .435  .289
Luzanilla, Carlos         FLA    1 1.000     1    1   1   0   0    0    0    0   0    1    0 2.000 1.000
Marín, Eduardo            FLA  130  .258   442  114  20   1  44   71   96    0   0   89  116  .606  .364
McInturff, Evan           FLA  156  .326   650  212  54   0   7   68   75    8   2   99   69  .442  .387
Nelson, Neal              FLA    0  .000     6    0   0   0   0    0    2    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Ouslan, Francisco         FLA   14  .146    41    6   2   0   1    0   16    0   0    2    3  .268  .143
Pacino, Krey              FLA  131  .301   375  113  33   2   8   47   67    9   1   62   54  .464  .377
Schiff, Gil               FLA    3  .000     3    0   0   0   0    0    2    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Senzaki, Sukemasa         FLA   28  .158    57    9   0   0   0    2   20    0   0    3    3  .158  .186
Sheedy, Simon             FLA    1  .000     1    0   0   0   0    1    0    0   0    1    0  .000  .500
Shrum, Seth               FLA   31  .148    61    9   0   0   0    4   24    0   0    1    1  .148  .200
Thomas, Morten            FLA  122  .263   372   98  14   1  17   16   65    3   0   42   51  .444  .296
Tofield, Zachary          FLA    2  .000     2    0   0   0   0    0    1    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Umbleby, Reagan           FLA    1  .000     1    0   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Vuelvas, Eddie            FLA    1  .000     6    0   0   0   0    0    3    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
West, Brad                FLA   14  .235    17    4   0   0   0    1    6    0   0    0    1  .235  .316
Whyte, Matt               FLA  105  .252   135   34   8   1   4   18   35    0   1   25   15  .415  .353
Wilmoth, Adrian           FLA    1  .500     2    1   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    0    0  .500  .500

1997 Pitching            Team     IP   ERA    G  GS   W   L  SV    K   BB   R/9
Beardsley, Tom            FLA   13.0 11.08    5   2   0   1   0    8    4 20.08
Cornier, Teddy            FLA  206.1  4.41   36  33  11  11   1  157   59 12.30
Dring, Tony               FLA  204.2  4.13   37  35  11  11   0  187   59 11.87
Duncan, Zack              FLA   68.0  3.71   13  12   6   3   0   44   12 11.25
Escofet, Norberto         FLA   67.2  8.11   41   3   1   2   1   50   26 16.49
Evans, James              FLA   91.2  6.28   74   1   9  10   2   43   23 13.16
Hughes, Cam               FLA   72.0  6.00   16  12   3   3   0   58   27 14.88
Mendez, Carlos            FLA   26.1 10.59   20   0   0   1   1   19   13 17.77
Nelson, Neal              FLA  114.2  5.02   75   0  10   4   4   79   25 12.32
Senzaki, Sukemasa         FLA  163.2  4.40   28  28  10   8   0  135   33 11.27
Sheedy, Simon             FLA   67.2  7.18   52   1   6   2   1   46   37 17.16
Shrum, Seth               FLA  180.1  5.64   31  31   7  11   0  139   46 12.88
Tofield, Zachary          FLA   66.0  5.73   65   2   2   8  29   97   16 12.41
Umbleby, Reagan           FLA   14.1 10.67   11   1   0   3   0    8    7 18.84
Vuelvas, Eddie            FLA   78.2  7.55   59   1   4   4   1   41   40 17.16

And now for the ratings. Name, position, age, B & T, and salary are self-explanatory. As for the rest:

Yrs - years left on contract, including '97. "Arb '97" means that they will be going to arbitration immediately before the expansion draft.
Ovr - overall rating. 75+ is major league quality; 95+ is an All-Star/MVP contender
Con - contact. Affects batting average (mostly)
Pow - power. Affects extra base hits.
Spd - speed. Affects stolen bases and such things.
Eye - eye. Affects walks & strikeouts.
End - endurance. Starters usually have ratings of 60+, with workhorses near 90. Relievers are usually under 30.
Ctr - control. Affects walks allowed.
Pwr - power. Affects strikeouts.
Mov - movement. Affects hits allowed.

With that in mind, let's take a look at what my scouts think of these guys:

Player Name        	Pos     Age	B	T	Salary		Yrs		Ovr	Con	Pow	Spd	Eye
Larking, Kenny		C	24	R	R	$950,000	5		72	70	71	59	70
Connor, Mathew		C	21	R	R	$327,000	Arb '99		76	72	75	74	74
West, Brad		C	23	R	R	$26,000		Arb '00		75	71	74	66	67
Luzanilla, Carlos	C	25	R	R	$18,000		Arb '99		68	67	70	54	73
Coleman, Scott		1B	24	S	L	$560,000	Arb '97		76	81	72	62	83
Kling, Jeff		1B	25	R	R	$5,400,000	4		81	94	73	64	83
Diaz, Etienne		1B	21	L	L	$18,000		Arb '00		71	75	68	70	86
McInturff, Evan		2B	23	R	R	$327,000	Arb '99		82	86	69	60	78
Dimitya, Ian		2B	23	R	R	$5,600,000	4		96	99	75	66	89
Arguenal, Alberto	3B	27	R	R	$5,550,000	4		86	84	89	53	78
Whyte, Matt		3B	21	S	R	$327,000	Arb '99		75	70	73	65	81
Wilmoth, Adrian		3B	25	L	R	$26,000		Arb '00		60	66	64	60	72
Pensomn, Raymond	3B	22	R	R	$13,000		Arb '00		55	67	60	66	69
Clifford, Zack		SS	27	R	R	$1,150,000	3		75	70	75	72	69
Bustos, Leon		LF	23	L	L	$26,000		Arb '00		71	69	74	88	76
Cinton, Jeff		LF	23	R	R	$18,000		Arb '00		62	63	67	57	76
MacFarlane, Phil	LF	22	R	R	$18,000		Arb '00		62	64	69	69	69
Denson, Dave		LF	22	R	R	$13,000		Arb '00		61	62	66	54	71
Pacino, Krey		CF	23	L	L	$327,000	Arb '98		86	89	70	71	85
Cordner, Mark		CF	23	L	L	$327,000	Arb '97		86	82	71	78	86
Ishikawa, Ichiro	CF	23	R	R	$26,000		Arb '00		74	70	71	75	72
Leitner, Greg		CF	21	R	R	$18,000		Arb '00		74	71	69	70	64
Dixon, Tom		CF	21	S	R	$10,000		Arb '00		45	58	56	81	64
Thomas, Morten		RF	24	S	R	$2,350,000	4		75	75	75	74	67
Marín, Eduardo		RF	25	R	R	$5,550,000	4		91	77	96	66	90
Schiff, Gil		RF	24	R	R	$327,000	Arb '00		72	67	77	63	71
Ouslan, Francisco	RF	24	R	R	$26,000		Arb '00		72	63	76	61	62
Daniels, Dusty		RF	23	R	R	$18,000		Arb '00		62	58	70	63	66
Zahler, Earl		RF	24	L	L	$18,000		Arb '00		60	61	67	61	69
Davalos, Manny		RF	34	L	L	$2,350,000	3		69	73	70	65	66


Player Name        	Pos     Age	B	T	Salary		Yrs		Ovr	End	Ctr	Pwr	Mov
Shrum, Seth		SP	23	L	L	$327,000	Arb '98		78	84	81	77	76
Dring, Tony		SP	26	R	R	$5,400,000	5		86	68	84	83	94
Cornier, Teddy		SP	23	L	L	$4,250,000	5		88	81	90	81	82
Senzaki, Sukemasa	SP	26	R	R	$4,750,000	4		88	78	89	81	93
Duncan, Zack		SP	26	R	R	$2,900,000	5		90	60	93	76	95
Hughes, Cam		SP	25	R	R	$360,000	Arb '99		70	82	77	84	60
Beardsley, Tom		SP	25	R	R	$26,000		Arb '00		74	64	69	69	84
Hansen, Stu		SP	21	L	L	$13,000		Arb '00		70	78	81	63	69
Williamson, Doug	SP	20	R	R	$13,000		Arb '00		63	82	72	67	62
Tofield, Zachary	RP	25	L	L	$2,900,000	4		88	23	82	100	77
Nelson, Neal		RP	31	R	R	$1,000,000	2		84	24	89	75	93
Evans, James		RP	22	R	R	$327,000	Arb '98		77	22	91	67	93
Sheedy, Simon		RP	24	R	R	$327,000	Arb '00		69	22	73	65	73
Vuelvas, Eddie		RP	24	L	L	$327,000	Arb '99		70	22	73	65	84
Mendez, Carlos		RP	24	R	R	$26,000		Arb '00		75	23	78	86	78
Erikson, Kurt		RP	30	R	R	$400,000	1		66	26	75	74	71
Umbleby, Reagan		RP	32	R	R	$950,000	1		67	25	70	84	68
McKinley, Kyle		RP	22	L	L	$18,000		Arb '00		68	25	88	65	76
Finley, Nick		RP	21	R	R	$13,000		Arb '00		62	26	70	67	59
Escofet, Norberto	RP	24	R	R	$26,000		Arb '99		72	42	72	72	83

Some additional information for your consumption:

* The name of this league is the "Jose Canseco Memorial League". Double and home run totals were pumped up from the very start. Make a note.
* The expansion AI loves young, cheap players with decent current ratings and high potential ratings. I've turned peak ratings off (sorry), so you won't know that, but keep the rest in mind.
* Larking, Connor, and West all figure to compete for the starting catching job next year, if they're still around. Luzanilla is a notch behind them.
* "Static" Kling was an All-Star last year. Coleman would have to be re-signed if we want to keep him. Diaz is almost ready for bigger things.
* "Pleased" Dimitya is the starting 2B with McInturff holding down SS. Stats and ratings should speak for themselves.
* "Piano Legs" Arguenal has a neat story behind him. Three years ago I switched his position from 1B to 3B. He's been pretty bad at the hot corner, though somewhat better now than when I first did it. But he can hit. He's blasted 25+ doubles and homers every year, and he's been with me from the start.
* IMO there's little to choose from between Cordner & Pacino. Cordner wants $3.6 million a year to stick around; Pacino is signed for the minimum through next year.
* Marin's numbers are actually DOWN from the last two, though he played a bit more this year. He's had serious injuries the last three years. I blame the 'roids. They're legal in this league, y'know.
* "Bling Bling" Dring was our other All-Star last season. Not his fault he only went 11-11; the league ERA was 5.37.
* Senzaki was taken in the expansion draft. This was a career high in wins - ten. Lots of no decisions and some minor injuries through the years.

Whew! Sorry this was all so long, but I figured you needed at least this much data. Remember, I can only protect 15 of these guys. Thanks for your help!

[Honolulu Blue]

Originally Posted by HiFiRevival

I know this isn't what you were looking for, but does the 2007 version allow you to take control of the expansion team for the expansion draft?

No. Maybe next year...

[Honolulu Blue]

I ran the expansion draft and protected the following players:

Connor, Kling, Diaz, Dimitya, Arguenal, McInturff
Cordner, Pacino, Marin, Schiff
Dring, Senzaki, Cornier, Duncan, Nelson

This agreed with the game's recommendations, except for three: They didn't protect Diaz, Schiff, or Nelson. Let's see who they would have protected:

"In the first round of the expansion draft, Tampa Bay picks... Zachary Tofield, pitcher, Florida Marlins"

"In the eighth round of the expansion draft, Tampa Bay picks... Greg Leitner, outfielder, Florida Marlins"

"In the seventeenth round of the expanison draft, Tampa Bay picks... James Evans, pitcher, Florida Marlins"

Uncanny, huh? Tofield and Evans I ended up missing a little because we've been a reliever or two short the past couple of seasons. Leitner was just one of many talented outfielders, and not the most talented one of the bunch.

The team improved to 82-80 in '98 despite our losses, and to 95-67 in '99, earning our first playoff appearance - a wild card berth. Yeah yeah, I really should write a dynasty, but I don't have time.

[CraigSca]

Reading this has me hankering to buy BBM again. Am I just setting myself up here?

[molson]

Protecting players for an expansion draft would be so much fun in FOF.

[Honolulu Blue]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Reading this has me hankering to buy BBM again. Am I just setting myself up here?

I think it's a cool game with just the right mix of simplicity and complexity (for me). I was surprised at how much it improved since I dropped it for OOTP sometime early this millennium. That said, you probably shouldn't buy it now:

1) BM '06 is free and available for download
2) The BM '07 demo is free
3) BM '08 is scheduled to be out around April 1 and it should be even better than this one.

Originally Posted by molson

Protecting players for an expansion draft would be so much fun in FOF.

I agree, but the expansion draft in previous versions of FOF worked the opposite way - you set a list of five players that are EXPOSED to the draft, and the expansion teams can only pick from those players on each team's list.